Martinez-based American Audio Visual Services production company plans building of new office

“We’ve just really outgrown it,” said John Collins, the owner of American Audio Visual Services Inc., of the reason for the move out of the current building his business has been located at for 14 years.

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American Audio Visual Services Inc., is building a 7,100-square-foot office and warehouse at 3621 Old Petersburg Road, next to Bob’s Tropical Fish. The business was formed in 1994 and has been located in its current 4,000-square-foot leased space near the Martinez Post Office for 14 years, said John Collins, who owns the company with wife Doris.

American Audio Visual Services offers equipment rentals and handles video projection, lighting and sound needs during corporate and civic events. The bulk of the company’s clientele is local, though about 30 percent of business is out-of-town, Collins said.

In 2012, the Collins purchased a nearly 1-acre tract on Old Petersburg Road for $197,500, according to Columbia County’s property records.

Collins said he’d been eying the property for years, but waited until land in that area was rezoned commercial before taking action.

“Once I saw Bob’s (Tropical Fish) built there, I kind of looked more into it, with the idea of being right there on River Watch (Parkway),” he said. “Now, River Watch is being completed through there and we just think it’s a great location ... not that we have a lot of walk-in business. We really don’t, but it’s still just good to be seen.”

A commercial building permit showing the project to cost $866,000 has been filed in Columbia County. Foundation work for the new building started last week, and Collins expects steel construction to begin in late August.